Social media pros & cons

Social media has it's good and bad sides. I'm going to list a couple on each side from my own personal experiences. Let's start with the good ones first!

Pros of social media

• Of course the biggest plus side of social media and all that comes with it, is the ease of keeping in touch with others. If you come across something on your way to work that reminds you of a friend you haven't spoken to in a while, then you can easily snap a picture of it with your phone and send that friends the picture with a message 'made me think of you!'. People nowadays don't have an excuse to not keep in touch with their friends, wherever in the world they may be (as long as they have internet). 

• Next to this a big reason for everyone to keep facebook is because the events you get invited to. If you have friends like I do, that don't have facebook, you tend to accidentally forget to invite them because it's so easy to make an event and invite your friends through facebook. Even though an email is also quickly sent, you don't have the reminder or the RSVP in there, and any changes you make in the event, people will see automatically. It's easy, and we are living in a very lazy world. 

• We all have those people where we tend to wonder what they're up to in their lives. Well social media allows you to have an idea about their lives, depending on how much they share online of course. Either way usually the place they're living is stated, so you know you can contact the person when you're in the neighbourhood. 

• In this economy it is tough to find a job, so because of linkedin you have a network and people who you can contact or who could help you in your search of a job. Maybe they know someone who is looking for someone with your qualities! We all need contacts in the business world and this is an easy way to have that! Someone asked me to add him on linkedin so he could contact me when he heard of a good PhD position that became available, so who knows what effect he could have on my future career! 

Cons of social media

• So a big negative point in my life of social media is the constant contact you have. I love it when I shut down my phone so no one can contact me and I have some peace and quiet. However, as soon as I keep this up for too long, I get emails (which I do check on my laptop) asking if I'm okay or if I lost my phone or whatnot. Also I am the person who's scared of missing an important call. I tend to miss the old days where cell phones did not exist and internet was a new thing and very slow. I loved snail mail (okay last time I used that I was probably 10) and the excitement of getting a handwritten letter in your mailbox. At that time along with many stickers, which I used to collect. Somehow it was more peaceful and less forced. It feels to me like a lot of contact nowadays is forced. Such as the 'read by' feature facebook has. I tend not to read a message when I know I can't answer it immediately because I'm worried the person will think I'm ignoring him or her. Ridiculous, I know! But these things are going on in my head. It is also the reason why I changed my whatsapp settings to people not being able to see when I was last online. I don't mind not being able to see when someone else was last online, so I'm all good with that, and it did relax me a bit more. Also because of the constant contact, we don't write accurately anymore. Messages have become short and distant I feel. I love receiving long emails from a friend about their vacation or something that has happened. But I have to admit, I don't tend to write long emails either. It's so easy just to send a short message. I'm such a hypocrite at times, I know :p Blame the laziness ;)

• A big negative point of the social media is the ease for someone to stalk you. Like the song from Taryn Southern - crush (see the link below) which is awesomely humorous, it's also very accurate about what's going on nowadays. Especially for the younger ones amongst us that have no clue about privacy statements and who could see what you post and share online - because once online, always online. Even though I am very careful about what I share, I have had my scares from friends who've sent me links where there was a picture of me and I had no idea it was taken whatsoever. Not to worry, it was never any embarrassing or nudity pictures, but it is shocking when you see yourself when you had no idea about the picture or post whatsoever. Also this was printed in a newspaper on the cover... Through some friends I also found out that there are clips of me on youtube from dance competitions. Sure it was a competition, but it wasn't like I was somewhere in the background, the camera actually focused on me. But really I don't mind these clips, my point is how easy there's something of yours online for everyone to see without you being able to control it! And we have all googled crushes and facebook 'stalked' them. I try not to, I never used the star feature either, but you can't help but wonder what they're up to and just check their page out. We're curious beings and there is no harm in that, as long as you don't take it overboard and start stalking the person. Because with the combination of the various platforms and the activity of someone online, it is possible to know where they are at what time and figure out their daily program. Especially for those in highschool, it's so easy to know what classmates are up to. And these people are usually pretty careless with what they post and show online, not realizing how it can come back to you later in life in a very negative way. I wonder how the president in 20 years will cope with it, because there will be tons of that person online. It could be scary really. 

 

• A very big negative aspect could be online bullying. I am very thankful that that was not a big part during my time in highschool where I was bullied, we only had email, icq, msn and well I did not have the bullies in my lists anyway. Yes some of them did call me, but then you hang up the phone after you told them you know who's calling (I'm very good at recognizing voices over the phone, which freaked them out and made my day!). Nowadays with people taking pictures of you, videotaping you and then posting it online for everyone to see. I cannot imagine how that could be! People creating fake profiles of you just to bash on you... That's just horrible. The person being bullied is never away from the bullies. At least I had my rest when I was home and just dreaded the next day. The kids being bullied now dread what is put online, they get messages, it's a constant thing. I really don't know how they cope really. 

These are my main points on social media. Can't live with it, can't live without it! Just think twice about what you share on the internet and keep some stuff for when you actually see your friends so you have something to talk about. Keep some mystery alive.

<3

Smothered

It has been a while, at least a couple of years, since I've had this bad of a headache. I think it has to do with the fact that I had about 2 straight hours of thinking, whilst paying attention to the students making their exam so they couldn't cheat. This last one was easy since I know quite a lot of the body language signs someone makes when they're preparing to cheat and whenever that happened I walked over to them and stood there overlooking the others as well. With this method, if they actually went ahead and cheated, I would've caught them red-handed. Problem is I had too much time to think about my life, the people in it, where I'm headed, why I want what I want, who my true friends are and so on. 

I am rethinking everything and feeling more and more the need to just move out of this country. Yes country, not just the city. I feel like leaving everything and everyone behind and start a new adventure somewhere else, somewhere I haven't been, somewhere where I don't know anyone yet. I am aware that I have this need because I feel smothered by everyone around me. I feel like everyone feels the need to tell me how to live my life. And I guess today felt as if the last straw was taken. I even missed my stop twice on my way home and I lost my public transport card, all because of the headache and the continuous thoughts going through my head.

 

All I have to say is that change is definitely on it's way. 

I can't hardly wait!

<3

Halloween Horror Show makeup look

Hiya!

So I was looking on youtube for inspiration 2 weeks before this event. I love playing around with makeup and trying out different looks. That's why I'm always excited for events like these where I can go crazy-wild wild makeup :D Yey!!

I actually went with the first look I tried out the evening, because I was quite happy the way it turned out to be honest. I didn't expect it to work out that well so I was very happy :)

The image that inspired me for this particular look was this one:

Image from google

The only thing that made me doubt this look a little was that I had to sit with the thick layer of makeup on my face for at least 11 hours, and after a while my face starts to itch when I'm wearing that much. But I decided around 7pm to just start with the makeup, and if I didn't like it or wouldn't think it would last for the many hours of sitting and watching horror movies, I can always take it off and have enough time for something a bit more simple. 

I finished the look a bit before 9 and I was very happy with how it turned out, especially for a first go with this particular look. So I decided to leave it and just go with it.

I finished the makeup by also adding the bones and shading to the neck, like the original picture, and created a big bun with one of the larger donuts you can buy in a drugstore and pinned a white flower at the side, which you can sort of see in the picture below:

Yes we were goofing off during the first break :D This was around 2:30am and we were going strong!

After the Halloween Horror Show I finally got home around 11am. I have to say that I was surprised at how good the makeup still looked after 14 hours! It did fade a bit and get very shiny, which doesn't show in the picture, but trust me I was almost functioning as a mirror to others! If I want to wear this look more often I'll probably invest in one of those clear matting powders. 

It was a fun night and I can't wait until next time!!

<3

Halloween Horror Show at Pathe Tuschinski 26/10/13 00:00

The movie theatre where they hold the Halloween Horror Shows. (Taken from the Pathe website.)

Hiya!!

Every year there's a Halloween Horror Show where 4 of the newest (usually not yet released in the cinemas here) horror movies are shown along with various short films and special previews and lastly also prices to the best costumes. This was the 5th year it was organized and was my third time there. I have to admit that the movie line up was the best one for me this year!

This year they had a lot of horror artwork from Eric Peters hung in the foyer of Tuschinski. It looked very cool to have those painting of classic horror characters such as Dracula and the Joker to name a few. And after all the bags were checked for bottles or cans of drinks (these weren't allowed but at least you could transfer your drinks in cups they provided for you, food was okay) we finally got to go to our seats. Since we bought our tickets online and we got appointed seats from there, we didn't feel the need to arrive there before the doors opened, because there is always a HUGE line, which was even there when we got there 5 minutes after the start of the show. But having quite a few of these marathons we knew that the first movie would start somewhere from 00:30. So we weren't worried at all :)

Originally we would've started with Curse of Chucky, but Universal Studios called in the morning before and made the theatre cancel the viewing of the movie. The reason why is not publicly known, so they moved up the line-up and the movie we started with was Insidious Chapter 2. I was most anxious about this one because even though I am fascinated by horror movies, I scare very easily. I've seen Insidious at a previous Halloween Horror Show and it had a lot of good scares which all made me (reluctantly) jump in my seat. And Insidious Chapter 2 had even more and better scares. It was a bit predictable at times, but those jump scares! I have never been scared that much and that bad in any movie I've seen. My poor heart!

Then there was time for a break which usually lasts about 20 minutes, and then the first short movies started with the first of a short trilogy from Jason Stutter: CAREFUL WITH THAT AXE. 



It's about 2 or 3 minutes long but was made perfectly and very unexpected! Loved it! 

 

Hereafer one the next movie started which was the new version of Carrie. I was a bit apprehensive about the remake of this classic, because I tend not to like remakes that much. However, I have to say they've done a reasonable job making the movie a modern version where the highschool kids actually look much more like high school kids than the original movie and they all had smartphones. I have to say I liked the movie! I still prefer the classic mainly because I feel that the actress portraying Carrie was better suited for the role than the remake and somehow the atmosphere was better. 

Then it was break time whereafter the next short of the trilogy was shown: CAREFUL WITH THAT POWER TOOL, which, even though you know what to expect from the first one, was very well done and still very unexpected! Another 3 minutes of sitting on the edge of your seat.
Then another short was presented which was THE APPLICANT (Tim Dean). This one was not too much to my liking. Started off where you were wondering what was going on during that job interview to a twist that was kinda weird and far fetched... A little bit sci-fi horror if you will. It wasn't my style really. You can see the entire short on youtube: 

So around 5AM came the time for the third movie of the night which I was very excited about: The World's End. 



They announced that the movie was not of a particular genre which made it a huge discussion to show it in the Netherlands. It was one of the reasons I wanted to go to this marathon because I really wanted to see it, and I understand after seeing it how it's difficult to put that genre label on this one. It is more of a comedy/drama between middle aged men, but it does have a sci-fi/horror theme to it from the middle on. Not really scares but there are quite some wtf moments. I liked it! But I was also a big fan of the first 2 movies of this trilogy which were Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. It wasn't as good as the last 2, but definately worth to see! 

Now it was 7:30am and the last movie had to be shown as well as the shorts after the last break. But first there was a prize ceremony for the best costumes. I love seeing how people put so much effort in it, especially since you have to sit in that costume the entire night, which let's be honest, with a lot of makeup or schmink/latex etc on your face is not comfortable and if your outfit it elaborate you tend not to be able to sit comfortably either. So I applaud those brave enough to go for it! The winners were 2 zipper-faced girls, and the first price was a tie between a horror Sinterklaas & zwarte Piet and 2 witches (which had chins and noses stuck on.
Now it was time for the last short films which was the third of the trilogy: CAREFUL WITH THAT CROSSBOW. A very good short with perfectly fits the other 2! Then there was another short film which lasted about 10 minutes which was Fist of Jesus (Adrián Cardona & David Muñoz) which you can see entirely on youtube:



Without giving too much away, this is a splatter movie which reminded me a bit of the style from the movie Braindead. The story was very original and a lot of humor going with the gore, which is the usual go-to for splatter movies. Then there was a special preview of a upcoming Dutch movie called 'de poel' which I did not find that interesting to be honest. But then again I'm not a fan of Dutch movies anyway. The crowd also did not seem too excited because not many people applauded which was a bit uncomfortable because the director was in the room. We clapped to be nice :) Finally the last movie of the marathon started which was I Spit On Your Grave: 2.



I have never heard of this movie and because the movie was chosen at the last moment they only announced it at the start of the marathon. I fell asleep in the first part, because well I've been awake for all of the above and I was just exhausted. I woke up because the main character was screaming, which happens during horror movies of course, and then I followed most of the movie. It is very graphic and basically a sick movie really. The young woman was raped, cut, beat up, kidnapped etc, to escape the men that kidnapped her, only to get tricked back into the same house. I won't say much more, but I found it surprisingly an interesting film, even though it was that graphic. It did show the emotional traject from someone undergoing the abuse and how others can be too late to really help that person. But definitely not a film for the faint at heart! 

Now at 9:45 the night has ended and we went ahead to walk towards our bikes to have the dreaded bike ride home with all the horror makeup still on (even though it itched like crazy) and having all the people that were up and about staring at us, well especially me since I was wearing skeletal makeup. I'll post the look in another post.

<3

Karnivool Live @ Melkweg Amsterdam 21-10-2013

This was the first time I went to a concert on my own, and it was amazing! I stepped out of my comfort zone, but somehow I found it very relaxing going to a concert alone. No I'm not a loner, I really do enjoy the company of others, but this time I didn't feel the need to make sure the people I was with were having a good time and I could just stand where I want and shamelessly jump and sing along! But let's start talking about the experience now.

I was at the venue a bit early; the doors opened at 19:00 and I was there at 19:15, so I ordered myself a Bailey's on the rocks (yum!) and sat on the stairs in front. There weren't many people there and I was wondering where I wanted to watch the concert. There were standing places near the stage at ground level or at the sides where you stood high above the crowd... I haven't stood there for a while and figured, why not (now I know again why I never stand there)? I will see the concert better from that angle since I'm a short person here in the Netherlands (the people here are so tall, which sucks for me at concerts).

The opening act was a band from Belgium called Lesoir. They arrived on stage on time (20:00) and it took a little while for them to start playing, so I guess there were some technical difficulties there. The band has great potential and the female singer has a great voice. Yes they used some echo, but from the female-lead singer bands I've seen, she clearly has one of the best voices. The band played a variety of instruments and even though they still need to find their comfort zone on stage as well as the connection with the audience, I believe with some practise they will be become popular within the scene in the future. So altogether a good opening act.

Then the wait started for the main act: Karnivool! The background music dimmed and they walked on stage to... have technical difficulties (what was up with that?!). So sadly they started of pretty anticlimactically, but they sure made up for that! The voice of the lead singer Ian Kenny is amazing! The many comments seen on youtube are true; he can hit all the notes from the album perfectly and they have moments where they sound better live than on the album. There were times I couldn't hear the singer that well, but that's because the sound installation (especially in the beginning) was set off to have the guitar sound a bit too loud. But that is really trying to find the faults though. 

They had good chemistry with the audience and a great stage presence. I have seen better live acts where the band had a better connection with the audience, but all these bands had much more experience with performing live than these guys, so actually it's not fair to compare them and I am sure Karnivool will get there very soon as well! This was the first concert from their new album and it was already great, so go figure. They played mostly songs of their new album (Asymmetry) of course, but also brought favorites from past albums back which made me (and the crowd) very happy! At some points there was a mosh pit going on (not a heavy one though) which I made a vine about (I'll add the links underneath for those interested in the 6 seconds loop clips of the concert). It was a great concert and my voice is definitely not happy with me which is always a good sign after attending a concert! Note to self though: next time, don't go up the balcony. Yes you have a good view of the stage for sure, but the people there aren't that active in the concert as the ground level. When I'm old and can't jump anymore, I'll go stand at the balcony ;)

Here are some pictures I took, I tend to only take pictures or make Vines when the band isn't playing my favorite songs so I can go all out and enjoy the songs that I love without focussing on the camera. It's all about the experience man!

I am aware I need a better camera than an Iphone, this will happen somewhere in 2014. Until then, enjoy these lesser quality pictures! Oh and the vine links as well :)

<3

The vine links:

Lesoir

Karnivool1

Karnivool2

Karnivool3

Karnivool4

Why did I wake up? ~awesome dreams

Okay I remember 2 dreams I had last night and with both of them I was annoyed that I woke up.

First 1:

I was walking around some sort of outside mall, it looked vaguely like the navy yard in Boston, but yet different with more terrasses and the floor was made from matted marble. I was alone, but knew my parents and some friends were meeting me at one of the terasses. I saw a french supermarket with all the great food I was missing like crazy, so I went ahead and entered this supermarket (this one reoccurs a lot in my dreams... I am french food obsessed). I saw my favourite items and looked in my wallet to find out I had no cash on me, and I knew that they would

not accept my bank cart at that place. But conveniently there was an ATM in the entrance of the store so I went ahead to get some cash from my account. The screen looked weird before I started and I figured let me press the transit button so everything looks normal before I stick my card in the machine. So I pressed the button, and the machine made a weird slushing noice, and out came a lot of money! I checked really quick but I didn't want to go through it all because I did not want to cause attention, so I quickly put it in my wallet and even then I heard someone say 'wow thats a lot of money, she's so lucky!' I looked around me but there was no one there who seemed distressed that they've lost their money. I thought if the bank would know who took it, but I didn't enter my cart... So the money's mine! I took 1 of the biggest carts and started putting yummy food in it and went ahead to pay at the register.

Then I was walking outside on the matted marble again, and I heard a familiar voice calling me... I was annoyed, I did not want to talk to this person because he's basically an asshole and he probably wanted to rub the fact in my face that he has a PhD position, and I still don't. So I turned around said hi, and told him I'm in a hurry. He was there with his parents and a smirk on his face. I just sped off. (this actually happened 2 weeks ago with the same person and his parents, so way to go dream with bringing back annoying memories!) I found my parents and told them I bought the food and that I will pay for lunch etc. -and I woke up in the middle of my sentence when I proudly told my parents that I had a lot of money. I wanted so badly to fall asleep again so I could go shopping in my dreams!!! At least there I had money!! Oh well :)

French supermarket I found on google :)

Second dream:

I was working my last ever shift at the supermarket store (where I have worked in the past). I was rearranging some toys so kids could get to them easier, and looking out for the tiger, the panther and the lion that were walking in the store. This always happened when we wanted to close, so people would leave faster. I was by the fruit department where there was also a door towards the back of the store where we kept boxes only. I saw the panther in the corner of my eye looking at me and I figured I had to take action before it ate me, and tricked it into that room. The panther actually spoke to me and said it felt sorry that I didn't trust him, he only wanted to mess around. I answered that I preferred to be safe and closed the door behind me. I went over to a colleague and saw that the lion was lazily sleeping in a corner of the store. What  kept me on guard was that I did not see the tiger anywhere... But I started to talk to the colleague and the store closed, so I figured that I'd go home. Went to the bar (??) and walked in the middle to only having to say goodbye 1 time. So i said that this was my last night but I'll pass by again to see them. I got no answer, so I felt kinda awkward, but I left with 2 colleagues. One of them was annoying because she was not listening to me whatsoever. She said she's gonna apply officially for the job and that they will hire her. (We were working there through another company) I told her I tried to do so, but they told me it was too expensive, and I worked more hours than her so she would probably get the same answer. She said that that will never happen and they will hire her for sure, and she just kept talking away. I did not want to walk with her much longer so I was happy that the other colleague had to walk a different way. This was not the way I took to my place, but it should work. Usually my bus stop was just around the corner from the store. Anyway I walked with her and it was a long walk, I walked around the same place where I used to live during my time in Boston, passed it and we ended up far outside the living world. There were fields and trees and it looked very pretty. A bus stopped and she said I had to get on that bus, she got on a different one. I figured the bus would go my way eventually since they all end up at the same place. I sat by the window and enjoyed the view, thought to myself that I finally got to see some parts outside Boston. I was very relaxed, but the bus did go further and further in the opposite direction where I had to go... The thought to exit at the next stop and take the next bus back entered my head, but I didn't want to have to wait an hour for the other bus, so I figured I'll just sit in the bus and take the entire tour and enjoy the scenery. I was looking outside and heard my phone ring... I woke up because my phone was ringing... I didn't answer because it was 8am, and well, just no! 

Googled Boston scenery and this was the picture that popped up which looked the most to what I saw in my dream. 

<3

Easy Halloween makeup look

Hiya!

It's makeup time and Halloween is just around the corner, so I figured why not try a little something out? I love trying out makeup looks and have done so ever since I actually had enough makeup to try out different looks. I tend to go for the dramatic, or better said, they end up dramatic because I keep wanting to add something when experimenting. But enough said, this look was totally planned and very easy to do! The only tricky part was getting the rhinestones at the right spot without getting the black eyeliner/shadow all over the place.

So basically I started with a shimmery white highlighter and used it all over my face. Then I drew with black eyeliner a line around my eyes and including the eyebrows since it's easier this way than trying to get them blended in the white and filled this with black eyeshadow. Black eyeliner on my waterline as well. Then with a small brush I used red lipstick to give some depth along the line. And lastly with lash-glue I've stuck on some red rhinestones (this took the most time).

The nose I've lined it with the same eyeliner and afterwards filled it with the same eyeshadow as I've used for my eyes. 

And then I've lined my lips with the same eyeliner, slightly exaggerated them by making them a bit bigger and lining the corners upwards into a semi smile. Then I filled it with that eyeliner and added red lipstick (same as the one I used for the eyes). And that's that! Easy peasy!! I think I may be using this for the Halloween horror marathon the movie theatre has here every year! Oh and I added a flower in my hair to refer a bit more to the sugar skull type of look. 

<3

PS: The part no one shows: getting the makeup off. And I truly understand why. This is the true horror of the look... But if you want to switch it up at a party with the above look, just go to the bathroom and wash your face a little bit with just water, and tadaa! You are scary as shit! Proof? See the pictures below! Yes I had to do some funny faces, it's tough to be all serious when you're looking like that... 

Expectations and letdowns

As a people-pleaser, we all have moments when we feel down or upset because the actions of others, whether it's a friend, family or a loved one. The reason why these people affect us is because we have certain expectations of them, and we feel betrayed and hurt as soon as these expectations aren't met. Maybe they made plans with someone else whilst knowing that the two of you had that same thing planned for a long time or they've kept something important from you, or they shared something about you with others etc. If you had no expectations set for them whatsoever, then you would not feel the way you do now, and thus you would continue your life happier. 

Now do we set too high expectations for those close to us? No. I don't think these expectations are 'too' high. I think what we expect of others should be of a mutual consent. I'm not saying that when you meet someone you have to sit down and go through some sort of contract like Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory, but make sure when you plan or tell them something that you want to do together or that this story you're telling them is private and meant to stay between the two of you. Now you can expect them to do so, and if this doesn't happen you are fully in your right to be disappointed and/or hurt.

If we live our life the way we want to, and set expectations for ourselves instead of in others, then there might be a chance that we live our life and not a 'shared' life. If you want to go somewhere - go! If you want to share something - do so! But only if you are happy doing so. However don't go too far with this and become a selfish person. This is more a note to live by for the people-pleasers amongst us, such as myself. I do believe that you should compromise in whatever relationship you're in; you have to be there for the person as much as that person is willing to be there for you. No, you don't know this beforehand when getting to know the person. But there will be situations where the person's character becomes clear and listen to your gut feeling as well. I tend to ignore my gut feeling because I think I'm overreacting or paranoid or whatever, sadly my gut was always right. We live - we learn! So cherish the good moments :) 

<3

Karnivool

As a huge fan of the progressive rock scene, I must say I am very excited to say that I bought a ticket to see one of the upcoming bands in the prog-rock scene: Karnivool.

I heard about this band through some colleagues about 2 years ago and it did take me a while to really get into them, as I had a lot of other bands that I was checking out around that time. About a month ago I found out they had a new album out, yes I know kinda late since this album has been released 19 Juli. But better late than never, right? Anyway I absolutely love the album and have been listening to them pretty much non-stop these days. 

So I bought a ticket to their upcoming concert which I'm very excited about because it'll also be the first time I'll be going to a concert - alone... Sort of scary, but then again I do go to concerts for the bands and not to socialize. That last one is just a big bonus!  

The reason I decided I would just go is because I know I would regret it if I didn't, and next to that, I have a feeling that when they return here, the tickets will be much more expensive since they're up for a few huge awards such as best live act, and the critics are very positive about this Australian band. And you have to get out of your comfort zone from time to time! This is one of mine! 

Either way you can check out their music on their site and for the time being here's their first single from their new album:

I'll make sure to write a post about the concert.

<3

(pictures taken from the band's website)

American breakfast

Hola hola!!

So I've been craving Apple Jacks for a long time now. I've been eating them since I was a kid and it has been some kind of nostalgic goody for me. So finally after a year's gone by, I went on this website that sells American food/snacks/drinks/other products. They had a deal where you get free shipping on orders above E30,-. So I splurged and ordered 4 (!!) apple jacks and 1 Hershey's Cookies And Cream cereal which looked yummy and I thought "why not?" I have to get myself to eat breakfast every day and this is a good way to do so. Admittingly the boxes are not cheap as they are in the US, the entire order was around E32,-. But free shipping and 2 days later it arrived!! 

As you see below in a big box with enough protection frizzles around the boxes, and also as a bonus they've added some candy! I really love it when companies add these type of bonus into an order; it always feels like a present within a present to me.

<3

Boca Pistol, Curacao

My old computer is pretty much dying on me, so I took my chance and burned all the pictures I have on 3 dvds. Going through them I thought, why not share some? So here are a couple of pictures from 1 of the many impressive spots on one of the islands I grew up on: Curacao. 

Boka Pistol lies within a park called Shete Boka. Boka means mouth in the local language Papiamentu, pistol means gun and shete is the number 7. So by now you would understand that in that park there are 7 'mouths' that the ocean created. It's located at the north-west (yep I just thought about Kanye's and Kim's kid...) side of the island, where the ocean is pretty rough. I love this side because I am obsessed with waves, there 1 spot at that side of the island where you can surf as well, maybe I'll post some pictures of that somewhere in the future. But anyway, this mouth is shaped in a way that when a larger wave crashes into it, the water goes through a narrow spot and as you can see in the picture above (the only one made by me), the water sprays out while making a loud noise, hence the gun reference.

And here are some more professional pictures my dad made for me a couple years ago :)

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Blue Monday

Hiya!It really seems like today I've had the case of a 'blue Monday'. But before I rant away, I moved my blog from stephanie0704.blog.com to here because I was having a lot of loading issues throughout and I have had more experience with blogger so I decided screw it I'm gonna go back :DEither way today had a lot of ups and downs which I will not go into detail here. It did made me think that whatever happens you HAVE to focus on the positive. My mom used to say 'you never know what good it will do to you', so you never know what will turn out from a bad situation. And I do believe that. I've had plenty of situations where I thought it was the end of the world and then something happened where my entire view changed for the better. So yes you may find yourself in a rut, but focus how pretty the sun shines in that rut, or how at least you're protected from the icy wind. I've looked at everything that happened today and last week in that light, and it does make it all easier. You figure out who your friends are, the people you can count on. Also you figure out your own character. As the Joker from Batman said: 'whatever doesn't kill you, simply makes you... stranger'. Haha okay and also stronger of course!So I'm enjoying my flowers and candles and relaxing with some good tea on my couch to start tomorrow positive again. I guess I've turned my rut into a comfy place ;)

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I want it all and I want it NOW! (Oct 4, 2013)

This is my life at the moment. I want it all and I want it NOW! Like a toddler rolling over the floor crying and screaming. Nice image going on there huh? I am a grown up toddler throwing a fit because I want everything now. I want my degree - now; I want an apartment - now; I want new clothes - now; I want new furniture - now; I want a nice job - now; I want money on my account - now. I can go on for quite a while. I do think thing the big difference between me and that toddler on the floor is one, I'm actually calmly sitting on my desk chair typing away listening to one of my favorite bands, and of course I know and understand these things need time and that you have to work for it all. Sadly an apartment won't fall out of the sky for me, as for my degree and job and other stuff I want. And I (begrudgingly) accept that. So therefore let me just clean up the mess I just made in my room (I was baking brownies but it has gone wrong and my oven is now a huge brownie mess... You don't want to know) and type out that motivation letter to a job I need for money. Then tonight watch some movies with a friend of mine, and work work work tomorrow towards that degree I want in order to get that job I want, to get that apartment I want and live the life I want! 

And now the song that fits my life from one of my favorite bands ever: QUEEN!

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How not to sell a product (Oct 3, 2013)

This is a little bit of a rant post. I've seen this happen a couple of times on a certain website and I really wonder how this get's approved by the board or whoever...
Here's the screenshot:
I mean the photograph is actually of good quality, but why take a picture of a broken product? I don't know anyone who would buy a eyeshadow pallet that is broken, much less order it with the chance of the other colours having a layer of this broken white one when you receive it in the post. Either way I don't understand who approved to let this be on the website. The colours are pretty though.

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Judging (Oct 2, 2013)

We all judge. Every single person in this world judges. This is a simple fact. The difference is how we conduct post-judgement. Will you act differently towards the person? Will you end the friendship? Will you try to save him or her? Will you leave the person be and continue the relationship as it was? Will you speak your mind? Would your behaviour depend on the situation?

I think most people will choose the latter, since I guess it really does depend on the situation. But if the person in question does something that will not affect your life in the very least, you just don't agree with that. Let's say your best friend chooses to get a job in the porn industry. It won't affect you, how does the job of your friends affect you anyway? You were friends before, and if the person's personality remains true, why let their personal choices affect the relationship you have? If the person is your partner, then the situation would be a bit different, and yet if the choice this person makes, makes them happier, then who are you to act differently in a negative manner towards them solely based on the fact that you disagree with their choice? Yes you may tell him or her that you don't think it is a good idea, but then don't try to make the person live their life according to what you think is best. How would you react when a dear friend decides not to be your friend anymore because of a decision you've made to your own lifestyle? Let's say you've dyed your hair glow-in-the-dark-green because you think it looks cool. Your friend disagrees and wants you to colour your hair back to 'normal' or else she or he wouldn't consider themselve your friend. I would rethink the friendship if that happens, because if your looks or your job matters more to a 'friend' than your personality, your character, what makes you you, how much of a 'friend' is that person anyway? And what business is it of theirs to barge in and tell you how to live your life? 

Of course the situations I'm stating here are reasonably innocent, if a person purges themselves to become or remain skinny and it becomes life-threatening, then you should barge in. But the overall idea here is if the person is happy, and their decision is giving them joy and whatnot, then be happy for the person. Yes you may tactfully give your opinion, lets say if my friend decides to enter the world of prostitution, I would tell him or her that there are other better ways to make money where your health won't be affected and people won't look down on you. But whatever that friend of mine decides, I will remain friends and be there for that person. Why? Because in my opinion that is what friendship is about and being a good person is about. You help out the others around you, but if they are happy and satisfied in their world they've created, then just be there for them, just like you would want them to be there for you.

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